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My friend Tom Guarriello joins me to unpack a deceptively simple question—why do some things matter more than others?

How is it that “brands” are rarely just products.

Tom describes how they’re meaning-machines: coffee cups, clothes, grocery aisles, and the everyday objects we carry through life are the things that quietly scaffold identity, aspiration, and sense of belonging.

Choice arrives instantly; explanation comes later.

Tom’s “meaning stack” helps us understand the rise of culture brands those brands that don’t just sell products, but stage worlds: concerts, exhibitions, lifestyles, and point-of-view.

Tom's new book gets into all of this and more. Check out his "The Meaning of Branded Objects".

https://tomguarriello.com

Here we are — where imagination becomes strategy and art is the engine of innovation. This is a rebroadcast of my conversation in Episode 54 with my friend Dave Gray - artist, visual thinker, and founder of the School of the Possible - in which we explore how drawing and creativity can unlock new ways of seeing, thinking, and shaping the future.

Simple sketches can transform complex ideas and help organizations envision possibilities that don’t yet exist — Dave is a maestro.

In our chat, Dave shares stories from his journey as an illustrator, consultant, and teacher, revealing how visual storytelling and hands-on creativity are essential tools for navigating uncertainty and designing better futures.

Whether you’re a strategist, designer, or just curious about the power of art in business and life, this conversation will inspire you to pick up a pen, embrace your imagination and let it help you create the future you want to inhabit.

Here is the link to the video we discuss: ⁠https://youtu.be/9pLCIoBZzd4

You'll want to watch that first — I mistakenly said I would include it but I don't want to rug Kirby's Youtube channel!

This is a special an curious episode of the podcast — a broadcast from my weekly Office Hours where people join to share and discuss their various “side projects”.

Last Friday Kirby Ferguson joined to share his latest video project, “Infinite Remix”.

So, you'll want to watch the video here: https://youtu.be/9pLCIoBZzd4 as I won't be playing it here so as to respect Kirby's work on his Youtube channel.

As a filmmaker, educator, and writer, Kirby Ferguson has been on the pulse of creativity and its evolution for decades. "Infinite Remix," is a visually enthralling an engaging exploration of artificial intelligence's role in creativity today. One is taken on an Adam Curtis-esque journey through the AI landscape, pondering how machines interact with human creativity and, ultimately, transform it.

I hope you enjoy this special edition of the podcast!

Don't forget — please support this work over on Patreon: https://patreon.com/nearfuturelaboratory

The value I am assuming you get from this work is more than "0". It's only $10 a month, an it really helps make it easier to spend the time and cover the costs of production and platforms this content lives on would be a great way of showing me that the work matters more than "0".

Thank you!

(p.s. Join Office Hours by joining the Patreon!)